A modest ambition (for the short term)

Carl Schafer poses for a photo in the studio on Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Photo by Jordan Kartholl.

This past month, I drank a lot of coffee with people who want to see the arts more visible in downtown Muncie. And it's not just artists. It's government representatives, city planners, business owners' and landlords. Conversations center around three ideas: A storefront gallery that could be shared among independent artists; the establishment of affordable private studio space in a shared building; and the initiation of a program of art in public places. These are all relatively modest ambitions and not all that difficult.

Making beauty and art integral to the experience of a city is an expression of its confidence and prosperity. Muncie had this kind of confidence once, which has been so aptly pointed out in the DWNTWN campaign that was recently unveiled. The video produced for the campaign asks "What's next?" The new Downtown Master Plan, which was open for public comment in January, calls for a "recovery" effort to reclaim buildings that have fallen out of use and recover the cohesiveness that must first be established before any downtown can be vibrant. According to this plan, small and inexpensive steps must be taken to show some visible successes even if they are modest.

There are several locations on the downtown streets that have already been identified as suitable for installation of outdoor sculpture. I hope that the Muncie Arts and Culture Council will be able to lead an effort to use these sites to initiate a program of art in public places by borrowing works of art for temporary installation. From a modest beginning like this, a much more ambitious program could evolve which could include permanent acquisitions to add to Muncie's already rich collection of public sculpture.

As for filling vacant buildings, there are several artists actively seeking studio and exhibition space downtown who are ready to make an investment not only toward sharing space in some unused building, but also in materials and equipment to improve it. Artists' needs are pretty simple: They need large unfinished open spaces that are heated. If they are on the upper levels of a building, they need the ability to haul heavy stuff up. Typically artists are looking for buildings most of us would find in need of renovation. They will even tolerate old-fashioned elevators, like the ones that operate with chains.

Of course, there are buildings like that downtown that are ideal in their present state as working space for artists. Alternately they would require a lot of renovation if their storefronts and upper floors were to be converted for commercial or residential use. Some landlords who own these buildings in highly visible locations are ready to offer artists a discounted rental agreement. But there is still a small gap between what the artists can afford to pay and what the landlords need to collect to break even or make a small profit.

Truth is, all of this can be realized before the end of this year. It will take a relatively small investment from a third party to bridge the gap between what is affordable on both sides. Whoever makes this investment will make possible a much larger payoff in years to come.

Carl Schafer is associate director of the David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State. He serves as president of the Muncie Arts and Culture Council. He contributes monthly columns about arts in our city.

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A modest ambition (for the short term)

This past month, I drank a lot of coffee with people who want to see the arts more visible in downtown Muncie. And it's not just artists. It's government representatives, city planners, business